Nutritional Values and Health Benefits of African Spinach (Green)

African spinach is a dark green leafy vegetable found in most African countries, specifically in the western part of Africa.

African spinach contains fiber, vitamins (niacin, vitamin A, folate, vitamin C, and B6), minerals (calcium, iron, manganese, potassium, zinc, and magnesium), riboflavin, and thiamine, including carotenoids such as beta-carotene, which have been studied and found beneficial to human health in several ways.

 

16 Interesting Health Benefits of African Spinach are as follows:

1.   Improves Digestion

African spinach is rich in fiber and water content, and calories free, making it very good for the digestive tract. This vegetable helps in digestion and prevents or relieves constipation as well.

Adding African spinach to your daily meal helps promote a healthy digestive tract.

 

2. The Rich Source of Zinc

The presence of essential minerals such as zinc in the vegetable serves as an immune system defensive agent that helps fight against certain diseases causing infections in the immune system.

Foods that are rich in zinc aid in supporting optimum immune function. It helps the immune system fight off colds and sore throats and helps in quick recovery from illness, injury, or surgery.

Zinc keeps the immune system strong. Therefore, regular intake of African spinach greatly boosts your immune system.

 

3.    Improves Eyesight

They contain important antioxidants such as lutein, xanthene, and beta-carotene that help improve eyesight and prevent the eyes from the effect of ultraviolet rays that can cause cataracts and vitamin A deficiency.

Also, zeaxanthin and lutein contained in African spinach aid in preventing cataracts and macular degeneration that can lead to blindness. Regular consumption of African spinach helps protect our eyes from the damage caused by sunlight, promoting healthy vision.

 

4.        Acts as Anti-Ulcerative

Spinach contains some anti-ulcer properties that help to prevent the body from gastric ulcers.

Studies have shown that spinach and some other vegetables can protect the stomach's mucous membrane, thereby reducing gastric ulcers.

Also, the glycoglycerolipids in spinach help increase the strength of the digestive tract lining, thereby preventing unwanted inflammation in the body.

Therefore consuming spinach will help in protecting the body from a gastric ulcers.

 

5.     Promotes Healthy Bone

Regular spinach intake helps improve skeletal and bone health because it contains certain minerals associated with bone health, such as calcium and magnesium.

Spinach is also a good source of vitamin K that is responsible for retaining calcium in the bone matrix, resulting in bone mineralization.

Spinach is also rich in minerals like zinc, phosphorus, copper, manganese, and magnesium, which help build strong bones and prevent osteoporosis.

These minerals are also crucial for maintaining healthy nails and teeth. Consume spinach today for a solid and healthy bone.

 

6.    Improves Metabolism

African spinach helps improve metabolism because it contains the protein needed in the body. The enzymes convert into amino acids, which give typical structure to the body cells.

Also, the reformed mammal protein helps in the development and growth of muscle.

They help increase the body’s healing ability and boost the entire metabolism, thereby leading to the optimal function of the organs. Consuming spinach will contribute significantly to boosting metabolism.

 

7.    Rich Source of Chlorophyll

African spinach Contains chlorophyll, just as most vegetables do. This chlorophyll is crucial in the body's system, boosting oxygen, blood cleansing, and building.

Chlorophyll also can regenerate at the cellular and molecular level and is known to aid in cleansing the body, help heal wounds, fights infections, and promote the health of the immune, digestive, circulatory, and detoxification systems.

Regular consumption of spinach aids in increasing the number of red blood cells and increasing the utilization of oxygen in the body.

 

8.   Promotes Healthy brain

Spinach has important contents such as folate, potassium, and others that correct cognitive depreciation issues and reduce Alzheimer's disease.

This implies that regular eating of this vegetable reduces the occurrence and offers gradual corrections to existing neural problems.

Spinach helps in maintaining the proper function of the brain during old age. Regular consumption of spinach makes your brain active and young and helps correct cognitive issues.

 

9.   Good for Weight Loss

Spinach is an excellent weight-loss food because of its low fat and calorie content.

It has a good quality of fat-soluble dietary fiber and is very nutritious. This fiber helps in weight loss through proper digestion, lowering blood sugar levels, and preventing constipation and overeating.

It is a portion of good food for those trying to lose or maintain weight. Adding spinach to your daily diet will help immensely in weight maintenance.

 

10.  Promotes a Healthy Heart

Consuming spinach helps prevent a heart attack due to its richness in lutein that prevents the thickening of the walls of arteries, thereby preventing atherosclerosis that is caused due to hardening of the arteries.

Also, spinach proteins aid in reducing cholesterol and other fat deposits in the blood vessels.

Spinach contains a high content of nitrite that helps prevent heart attack and prevents the body from heart diseases associated with fat deposition.

Therefore the intake of spinach regularly contributes to a healthy heart.

 

11.   Maintains Blood Pressure Levels

Spinach has a shallow content of sodium and a high range, which is very beneficial for people suffering from high blood pressure, as potassium lowers and sodium increases blood pressure.

Also, folate in spinach reduces hypertension and relaxes the blood vessels, thereby maintaining the proper flow of blood. Therefore consuming spinach regularly helps maintain good blood pressure levels.

 

12.  Prevents Anaemia

Regularly consuming spinach can help prevent anemia due to its rich iron content.

As iron deficiency leads to anemia. Iron is also essential for menstruating women and growing children. It provides fewer calories and is free from cholesterol and fat.

Iron is essential in the body for good energy, as it is a component of hemoglobin that transfers oxygen to the body cells. Adequate intake of iron-rich foods can go a long way in preventing anemia, and consuming regularly can help.

 

13.  Good for the Skin

Spinach is an excellent food for the skin; it is loaded with vitamins A, C, E, and K and essential minerals that play a vital role in skin care.

It helps in treating acne. Its richness in vitamin B also aids in protecting the skin from the harmful effects of ultraviolet rays that lead to skin cancer, sun damage, and premature skin aging.

Spinach is packed with tons of antioxidants that destroy free radicals in the body; eating spinach will also help reduce age-related degeneration, thereby making your skin look younger and radiant. 

 

14.  Promotes Hair growth

Spinach is packed with nutrients and antioxidants that contribute to healthy hair. It’s rich in vitamins B, C, and E, and calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, and omega-3 fatty acids are required for healthy hair growth.

The presence of iron also helps the red blood cells carry oxygen to hair follicles, which is essential for solid strands and healthy hair growth.

The deficiency of iron causes anemia that leads to hair loss. It’s rich in folate, helps produce red blood cells, and iron allows them to carry oxygen, preventing hair loss. Therefore adding spinach to your daily diet will contribute a lot to the health of your hair.

 

15.    Prevents Cancer

Spinach contains various minerals that can help prevent and treat cancer.

It is rich in flavonoids which are phytonutrients with anti-cancer properties. Spinach has been found effective in reducing cell division in human stomach and skin cancer cells.

Various constituents in spinach, like folate, chlorophyll, and tocopherol, help treat and prevent cancer.

Consuming spinach regularly will help reduce the risk of prostate cancer and prevent breast cancer.

Spinach helps suppress cancer formation, and it contains a high content of antioxidants that helps in cancer prevention. Therefore you should consume spinach regularly, as it will help combat cancer. 

 

16.  Relaxes the Body

Spinach helps in reducing stress and keeps the body relaxed. It contains a good amount of magnesium and zinc, which enables you to sleep well at night.

Good quality sleep aids in resting your tired eyes, thereby relaxing the entire body.

Magnesium also aids in replenishing your body with energy. Regular consumption of spinach helps significantly in keeping your body relaxed and completely stress-free.   

 

Nutritional Values of Spinach

 

Nutrients	Amount
Energy	24 Kcal
Carbohydrates	3.63 g
Protein	2.86 g
Total fat	0.39 g
Cholesterol	0 mg
Dietary Fiber	2.2 g
Folates	194 µg
Niacin	0.725 mg
Pantothenic acid	0.064 mg
pyridoxine	0.196 mg
Riboflavin	0.188 mg
Thiamin	0.075 mg
Vitamin A	9376 IU
Vitamin C	28.1 mg
Vitamin K	482.9 µg
Vitamin E	2.01 mg
Sodium	78 mg
Potassium	556 mg
Calcium	97 mg
Copper	0.130 mg
Iron	2.72 mg
Magnesium	80 mg
Manganese	0.896 mg
Zinc	0.55 mg
Lutein-zeaxanthin	12190 µg
Crypto-xanthin-ß	0 µg
Carotene-ß	5625 µg

 

Benefits of Eating Spinach Everyday

Consuming spinach daily benefits your health because of the numerous minerals and nutrients.

Spinach is a rich source of plant-based omega-3s and folate, which helps reduce the chances of stroke, heart disease, and osteoporosis.

We are consuming spinach regularly also aids in boosting blood flow, thereby helping to protect you against age-related sexual issues.

Spinach is also loaded with lutein, which fights against macular degeneration and may help sex drive.

Therefore regular consumption of spinach contributes positively to our health because it is packed with lots of nutrients.

 

Side Effects

Spinach is one of the healthiest vegetables that should be included in our diet as a staple.

It is loaded with nutrients and provides numerous health and medicinal benefits. But excessive consumption can be dangerous as it has some side effects.

Spinach is rich in dietary fiber. Though fiber is good for healthy digestion, too much can lead to stomach disorders like bloating, abdominal gas formation, and constipation when eaten in excess.

Excessive consumption of spinach also leads to gastrointestinal distress. Spinach also contains many purines, a group of organic compounds that convert to uric acid when ingested.

It is terrible for the health of the kidney because the presence of excessive uric acid can boost the precipitation of calcium in the kidney, which may result in small to medium-sized kidney stones.

Consuming spinach excessively also can affect the teeth due to the presence of oxalic acid, which forms tiny crystals that do not dissolve in water. It can lead to your teeth turning a bit coarse after consuming it.

Also, people prone to diseases like gouty arthritis should avoid excessive intake of spinach due to its high purines and increased amounts of uric acid, which can cause severe joint pain, swelling, and inflammation.  

Spinach also can cause allergic reactions too. Vegetables that contain histamine can cause some pseudoallergic effects.  

Consuming spinach benefits our health, but too much of it affects our health. So you must be very careful while using spinach in your daily diet. You can balance it with other nutritional ingredients to live a healthy life.

 

Conclusion

African Spinach is a vital vegetable used for cooking and other culinary purposes.

It contains a high value of various essential constituents that benefit overall human health by treating certain diseases, correcting health issues, and managing good health.

This vegetable is better eaten when boiled to a specific temperature while the constituents remain active to perform their functions.